This invention relates to the field of networking and more specifically to using a graphics processor to perform high-speed network packetization of data.
Networking is one of the basic building blocks of the information age, allowing computers and other electronic devices to connect to one another, to communicate and conduct transactions. Networking affects every industry including financial, banking, legal, military, high technology, transportation, telephony, oil, medical, drug, food, agriculture, education, entertainment and arts, and many others.
Despite the success of computer networking, people continue to demand greater performance and capabilities in their local area and wide area networks, including the Internet. The amount of data being transmitted over networks continues to increase. For example, people are transmitting video (e.g., high definition video and video conference), movies, images (e.g., high resolution graphics), audio, files, and many other types of information over networks. Networks facilitate vast numbers of transactions and commerce including on-line stock trading, book sales, auctions, airplane reservations, and grocery shopping, just to name a few examples.
Therefore, there is a need for improvements in networking throughput and packetization, which will enable transmission of greater amounts of data while more efficiently utilizing computing resources and power.